SHANGHAI'S temperature is expected to drop to as low as 5 degrees Celsius overnight tonight, though a cold front passing through the city may not be strong enough to mark winter's start.

Today, the rain is forecast to get heavier, with a low of 13 degrees Celsius and a high of 16, the Shanghai observatory said.

The wet weather should continue tomorrow, pause on Saturday and begin again at the end of the weekend, Shanghai observatory officials said.

The cold front is expected to arrive in the city overnight.

The temperature early tomorrow morning may reach 5 degrees, then rise to a high of 14. Saturday's low should be around 9 degrees, rising to a high of around 12 degrees Celsius. Temperatures in the city's suburbs should be lower, the observatory added.

The cold front may drop the city's average temperature below 10 degrees Celsius between tomorrow and Sunday, but the temperature may bounce back on Monday, halting the start of the meteorological winter. According to the country's standards, meteorological winter will begin when the average temperature is at or below 10 degrees Celsius for five consecutive days after lidong, the start of winter on China's lunar calendar, which is usually around November 7.

Today is xiaoxue, or light snow, on the Chinese lunar calendar. That marks the time when many traditional families in China start to make preserved ham and pork sausage as the weather should be cold and dry.